LaRoy Theatre
848 Gallia Street,
Portsmouth,
OH
45662
848 Gallia Street,
Portsmouth,
OH
45662
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Boxoffice, March 11, 1974: “The LaRoy Theatre recently was demolished to make way for the widening of Gay Street. Through the efforts of the Portsmouth Arts Council, some irreplaceable ornamental sections of the vintage building were salvaged.”
The January 12, 1926, issue of The Portsmouth Daily Times had an article about the opening of the LaRoy Theatre the previous night, and said that architect Laurence Millspaugh was among the speakers at the event. The November 19, 1924, issue of the same publication had said that Columbus architectural firm Carmichael & Millspaugh had been chosen to design the new theater to be built at Gallia and Gay Streets.
The firm was founded shortly after WWI. Martin Laurence Millspaugh retired from architecture in 1932 to take over operation of his family’s business, Baltimore silversmiths Samuel Kirk & Son. Carmichael & Millspaugh also drew the plans for the 1926 remodeling of the Robey Theatre in Spencer, West Virginia. I’ve been unable to discover Mr. Carmichael’s first name or initials.
The LaRoy Theatre opened with a three-manual Bennett organ, opus 952. The fate of the instrument is unknown at this time.
January 1926 Grand Opening print ad added courtesy of Guy Cooper.
This web page has photos of several Portsmouth theaters, including the LaRoy about halfway down the page. A list at the top of the page gives the LaRoy’s address as 848 Gallia Street.
The August 1, 1928, issue of the Portsmouth Daily Times said that the Schine Theaters Circuit, which had recently acquired the LaRoy, Lyric, and Columbia Theatres, would install new and improved lamps in the projectors at all three houses.
Thank goodness for street widening (he said sarcastically)! Portsmouth may have lost a viable downtown business, but now people can drive down the block 4 tenths of a second faster!
On 1/18/43, “Rise and Shine” with Jack Oakie and Linda Darnell was playing at the LaRoy. The other theaters in the Portsmouth area at the time were the Eastland, Westland, Strand, Lyric, Warner’s Columbia, Garden and Stanley.